Communicate!

Helping you win loyal friends through your communications

How to Lose Rona as a Donor

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This is a sequel of sorts to my post that so many of you liked, How to Lose Dennis Fischman as a Donor.

When Rona Stoloff agreed to marry me, she chose to use my last name instead of her father’s last name from that time on.  That was in 1989.  We recently celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary.

Yet at least once every year, the college Rona attended (which is now called Stony Brook University) sends her mail…to “Rona Stoloff.”

Sometimes it’s a newsletter.  Sometimes it’s an appeal letter.  Sometimes it’s an application for a credit card linked to Stony Brook.  If Rona were a less honest person, that could lead to credit card fraud, and the school would be an accessory to the crime!

Rona has written and she’s called, but the beat goes on. No one at Stony Brook can figure out that sometimes people change their names, especially if they’re female.

I don’t wonder why Rona has never given money to Stony Brook, even though she got a fine education there.  What I wonder is how many other women refuse to give to their alma mater because it doesn’t know their name.

Has an organization you support ever gotten your name wrong? Did they fix it?

What a Seal of Approval Says about Your Nonprofit

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“There are about a dozen charity evaluation and watchdog organizations that offer seals of approval” to nonprofit organizations, according to Janna Finch of nonprofit fundraising software evaluation company Software Advice. But do they mean anything?

Yes–to your supporters.

giving-increase

Donors look for ratings seals

Finch’s survey found:

  • 55% of respondents “always” or “sometimes” check for ratings seals on your website.
  • 32% say the seal would “greatly” raise the chance they would make a donation.
  • 40% say the seal would “moderately” or “slightly” increase their chance of giving.

Why it’s too bad

There are lots and lots of nonprofits.  As a donor myself, I understand why people want better information about what they’re giving to.  But I think the focus on ratings and seals of approval is misguided.

First: ratings are based way too heavily on financials, and specifically, on overhead ratios.  But the overhead myth is holding nonprofits back.  For every charity that spends too much on administration and infrastructure, there are probably ten who spend too little–especially compared with the for-profit world.

Second: the ratings system costs money that small nonprofits can’t spare.  To display the seal of the BBB Wise Giving Alliance, your nonprofit would have to come up with $1,000-$15,000 every year.  This “pay to play” system discriminates against small-budget organizations.

Third: it’s hard to measure the “program impact” of a social movement.  What was the impact of all that marching and praying, Dr. King?  Where are your measurable outcomes for the last six months?  When seals of approval are awarded like Boy Scout badges, they may trivialize real, important, even historic work that donors should want to support.

What you should do

In the end, though, it doesn’t matter what I think of seals of approval.  It matters what your donors think.  They like them.  So if you can afford the time and the money it takes to win them, you should have them and display them on your website.

Really, though, you should communicate well enough, and often enough, with your supporters that they don’t need the Better Business Bureau or Charity Navigator to tell them how good you are. What a seal of approval is less important than what you say…and what your supporters say about you.

How to Lose Dennis Fischman as a Donor

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“Dear Bernard…”

I’ve been reading The Nation all my adult life.  I’ve subscribed to it for thirty years.  And I used to give a donation every month–but not any more.

“Bernard, don’t let them win!”

Sorry.  There are other progressive organizations.  Hell, there are other progressive magazines.  If I want to do my part to keep the right-wingers from stamping corporate logos on people’s minds, I can give my money elsewhere.

“Bernard, we want you back.”

Too bad.  Because my name is not Bernard.

Now, you might think I’m being petty here.  I do read The Nation ever week, right?  And I pass along each week’s issue to a friend who reads them too.  What’s more, the magazine has moved into the 21st century with a good website and a diverse set of contributing editors that keep it lively and on point.

Why should something as minor as the wrong name lose me as a donor?

First, because no one’s name is minor to them.

Second, because if they’re making this mistake with me, how many others are they offending with similar mistakes?  Why should my donation fill a hole they’re digging themselves, because they can’t get a person’s name right?

Third, because when I point it out to them, they don’t respond.  I reply to the emails.  I tweet the editor personally.  And yes, I’m going to call them and find a human being to speak to live.  But that’s not the donor’s job. And most donors won’t do it.  And you will lose them, maybe for a lifetime.

Is your nonprofit telling donors they are irrelevant?

As a donor, do you feel welcomed and cherished?  Or do you feel nameless?

May 5 update: the fundraising staff finally responded and promised to do better.  Let’s hope the social media staff learn too!

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